mummer
Americannoun
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a person who wears a mask or fantastic costume while merrymaking or taking part in a pantomime, especially at Christmas and other festive seasons.
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an actor, especially a pantomimist.
noun
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one of a group of masked performers in folk play or mime
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a mime artist
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humorous an actor
Etymology
Origin of mummer
First recorded in 1400–50, mummer is from the late Middle English word mommer. See mum 2, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In them, I got my first images of what Shakespeare’s childhood must’ve looked like, and the great wagons on which the traveling mummers rode around and presented their plays.
From New York Times
The Mummers Parade, believed to be the nation’s oldest folk festival, stems from a mixture of immigrant traditions, some dating back of the 1640s, dubbed "mummer" probably from the German word for "mask."
From Fox News
The Mummers Parade, believed to be the nation’s oldest folk festival, stems from a mixture of immigrant traditions, some dating back of the 1640s, dubbed “mummer” probably from the German word for “mask.”
From Seattle Times
Henderson has referred to mummers’ costumes as a source of the hoods, but the cloth covering carries multiple and varied associations, from innocent Halloween ghost to devious criminal or torture victim.
From Los Angeles Times
The mummer of rhythm that drives “Malibu Nights” could be a lover’s heartbeat.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
